


Pocket Full of Power, Promise Up My Sleeve

by puerilebeauty5



Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 18:16:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7944418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puerilebeauty5/pseuds/puerilebeauty5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After witnessing a bank robbery, Kim Jinwoo, rising pop star, is taken hostage by some interesting personalities.</p><p>(cross-posted from winnerexchange.livejournal.com)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pocket Full of Power, Promise Up My Sleeve

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hyeongs](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=hyeongs).



“Good Evening, America. This is the Rachel Dalia show, and I am your host Rachel Dalia. This week we will be talking to the renowned singer, actor, activist, television personality, and now, author – Jinwoo Kim. Hello, Mr. Kim. How are you doing today?”

Jinwoo directed his patented broadcast smile at the nervous interviewer as he replied “Hey Rachel. I’m well. And please call me Jinwoo.”

“Alright, Jinwoo. You recently released an autobiographical memoir which quickly soared to the top of bestseller lists worldwide. How do you feel about that?”

At this point in the promotional period, Jinwoo had been asked that question so many times that he didn’t even have to think about it before providing a reply. “I feel blessed. I wrote this book to share my story with the world, and I am so grateful for the overwhelmingly positive response.”

The blonde interviewer crossed and uncrossed her legs. She still seemed very nervous, but Jinwoo couldn’t figure out why. His PR team had chosen her because she was known for her great interviews with notable individuals from various industries- individuals even more intimidating and accomplished than he was. What could possibly be making her so nervous this time?

“It’s a great story. Terrific read. I couldn’t put it down until I got through the entire book”

A short awkward pause followed as Jinwoo patiently waited for her to get to the point that she was obviously circling around.

“If you don’t mind, Mr. Kim, sorry, Jinwoo, I’d like to go off script a little. We have a segment on this show where writers narrate a short story from their books. I know you’re here as a celebrity, but I was wondering whether you would be willing to participate in that segment.”

Jinwoo leaned back in his chair. This was very impromptu, but at least it was more interesting than the other formulaic interviews he had given in the past month. It was a story about his life after all; Narrating it shouldn’t be too difficult. “I don’t have a problem with that”

“Great! One story in particular caught my interest- your run from the FBI about 35 years ago. I think that experience laid the foundation for your activism and participation in the movement, but you skimmed over it in your book. If it’s not too presumptuous of me, I’d like to request that one”

Reining in his surprised reaction to that request required the use of the acting skills that he had honed over the last 30 years. That story. Why did it have to be that story? Jinwoo had described the story as best as he could in the book, but it had taken an emotional toll on him. It had been weeks before he could make himself continue working on the book. Retelling it on television would be difficult. He couldn’t attempt to negotiate with the interviewer either. Declining on national television would give the opposition material to use against him and the movement. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Jinwoo’s eyes sought out the other man in the audience, stopping when he connected with the serious brown – eyed gaze. The man nodded when he noticed Jinwoo questioning glance. It was decided then. This was his story just as much as it was Jinwoo’s -perhaps even more. If he wanted it told, then Jinwoo would share it with the world in its entirety, or at least he would try to do so.

“Alright. This is a really long story though.”

“Don’t worry. This is a two-hour show. We have time”

“Okay. This happened a few months after I competed on Idol. We were doing our nationwide tour, and we got a day off while in Chicago...”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Yup. He was definitely lost. You would think that with the guidance of both Google maps and a physical map, Jinwoo would be able to find a bank 10 blocks away from his hotel. Apparently not. He was so lost that he couldn’t even find the street he was currently on in his map of the financial district. He could have taken a cab there, but no- he had decided that he wanted to spend time outside with the sun shining down on him and cool breeze on his back after two months spent cooped up in the claustrophobia-inducing tour bus. Unfortunately, he wasn’t getting any of that today.

The breeze was nowhere to be found, and the sun was trying to cook him in his own sweat. Jinwoo was starting to get very annoyed with how his day off was going.

He stomped his way down the street while he tried to determine his next plan of action. He could ask someone for directions? Strangely enough, the street was completely empty. Jinwoo was supposed to be in the middle of Chicago, the street should be teeming with people. Just how far off had Jinwoo wandered?

Jinwoo’s meeting with his financial manager was in thirty minutes. Financial Manager. He could barely believe that he had one of those now. He had come a long way in the last year- from crashing on Seungyoon’s couch because he could not afford rent to planning future investments with his financial adviser. Idol had changed his life. As he pondered over his current circumstances, he caught sight of someone lounging on the porch of one of the apartments on the street. If he lived there, he probably knew the neighborhood well enough to direct him to the bank.  
Jinwoo called out to him. “Hello! Excuse me!” He noticed that the man was wearing a completely black outfit, which was a very odd choice for mid – July. At that moment, Jinwoo’s phone beeped, distracting him from his scrutiny of the strange man. He pulled it out just in time to see his phone go dead. “Fuck!” He must have forgotten to charge it last night. Now he only had his physical map.

“What’s up?” The man on the porch was now leaning on the wall beside the stairs- much closer than he had been when Jinwoo had last seen him. He was gorgeous. Jinwoo took in his appearance- intense gaze, well–defined features, tanned skin, broad shoulders, thick thighs. He seemed much younger than Jinwoo had expected him to be, maybe around Jinwoo’s age?

The man was apparently too impatient to wait for Jinwoo to stop checking him out. “What do you want, dude?”

“Um. I was wondering whether you could direct me to Alliance bank. It’s supposed to be in this area, but I think I got lost trying to find it.”

“Isn’t that a map in your hands?” The man asked with an amused glint in his eyes.

Jinwoo looked down at his map. He felt like the stranger was making fun of his flawed sense of direction, and he was not amused. He got enough of that from his friends. “Yes, it is. And if it was helping, I wouldn’t have to ask you for directions. Do you know where the bank is or not?”

“No need to get riled up over an innocent question. It’s two blocks down. When you get to the junction, turn left and walk straight down. It should be on your left”

“Got it. Thanks for your help.”

Jinwoo started walking away when he heard the man call out to him again “Hey! What’s your name?” Jinwoo was a small town boy, but he knew better than to give strangers – especially strangers who wore black turtlenecks in July – his real name. “It’s Mark!” “See you around Mark!” Jinwoo increased his pace, not bothering with a reply

*

 

Jinwoo arrived at Alliance Bank with 5 minutes to spare. When he entered the building, he could not find any clear signs directing him to the office of the financial advisers. He would have to talk to the customer service representatives. The queue in front of their desk was really long though. Jinwoo was definitely going to be late for his meeting. Way to make a great first impression of his adult status on the financial manager. He quickly joined the line.

While he tried to pass the time by studying his surroundings, someone tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me. Are you Kim Jinwoo? The contestant from Idol?” Jinwoo turned to look at the woman speaking. He rarely got recognized in public, and when he did, it was usually by teenage girls. This woman was at least forty. “Yes, I am” he responded while nervously rubbing his palms on his jeans. “You’re even better looking in person. Your story really resonated with me, and I voted for you in the finals. You should have won. Would you mind taking a photo with me?” 

“Sure” Jinwoo leaned in for the photo. Getting recognized by random people on the street was still a very strange feeling for him. “Thank you!” the woman said as she tucked her phone back in her purse and walked away. Only then did Jinwoo notice that it was his turn to talk to the customer service representative. “Hello. How can I help you today?”

“I’m here to see my financial adviser- Im Jaebum. Can you direct me to his office?”

“The financial advisers do not work at this branch. You’re probably supposed to meet at the other branch. It’s about 15 blocks away.”

“Oh. Thank you for your help.”

Jinwoo turned away. Damn it. That guy has given him the wrong directions. He probably wouldn’t get to the other bank before the meeting was supposed to end. This was his only day off too. Jinwoo cursed at the strange man in the black turtleneck as he made his way to the exit.

“Everybody down. Hands over your head!”

Jinwoo remained standing. He couldn’t move. It felt as though he was rooted to the ground in shock as he watched two heavily armed men in black ski masks block the exit.

“Hands in the air. My buddy here is going to go around and pick up your phones. Put them in the bin if you know what’s good for you. You can get them when we leave.”

One of the men grabbed an empty trashcan and walked around the banking hall, getting the bank customers to put their phones in it.

“Hey pretty boy! Which part of everybody down and hands in the air don’t you understand?”

Jinwoo was still trembling nervously. He couldn’t believe this was happening. It wasn’t even his bank, for fucks sake! The weight of the man’s words only sank in a few minutes later. He pointed to himself as he replied shakily “Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re obviously going to be a problem. Come over here and kneel next to the wall. Hurry up!”

Jinwoo stumbled towards the man before he was shoved toward the wall. “And keep your hands up. I’d better not see any movement from your area until I leave”

The sound of footsteps that signaled the robber moving towards another corner of the bank brought Jinwoo nothing but relief.

“What are you doing with your phone?” Jinwoo could hear a woman blustering and sobbing silently. Her voice sounded like that of the woman he had taken a selfie with a few minutes ago. “Hey M, she called the police. We need to work faster” The man shouted, a dull contact sound and a loud thud. Jinwoo couldn’t see anything, but he was frightened out of his mind. Had they killed her? Who was next.

“Listen up, all of you. We’re nice people, and we’d like to leave this place with as few casualties as possible. All we ask is that you obey our instructions and behave yourselves. She just got cold-cocked but the next person won’t be as lucky”

“Do you have all the phones?” “Yeah”

“Alright. Who’s the manager of this bank? Lead me to the safe. M stay here and watch them.”

Jinwoo stayed in place, still in shock as the robbers took all the money in the cashiers’ counters and the bank safe. Suddenly, the deadly silence was interrupted by the wailing sirens of rapidly approaching police cars. The footsteps of the robber who seemed to be the leader could be heard as he hurried back into the main banking hall. “Stay where you are. Do not move or I will shoot.” Jinwoo could hear them exchanging panicked whispers near the bank counter. Then, a loud statement “Him. Take him. The one kneeling by the wall” Jinwoo quickly realized that they were talking about him. Take him? Take him where? What did they want with him? As he felt a large hand grab his shoulder and pull him up, Jinwoo started to mutter all the short prayers his grandmother had taught him when he was younger. How did the lord’s prayer go again? Jinwoo was pulled towards the second robber, who tied a thick black fabric over Jinwoo’s eyes and tied his hands together in front of him.

Jinwoo had always been less brave than the other kids. When he had gotten stoned with some other seniors during their last week of high school, they had talked about how they wanted to die. The others had listed exciting things like freefalling from a plane, overdosing on ecstasy while balls deep in a Victoria’s secret model, and a murder suicide with a Hollywood starlet (Jinwoo had kept a careful eye on that one until he left town. That didn’t seem like a normal wish). On the other hand, Jinwoo had chosen something peaceful- passing away in his sleep. No intrigue, no drama, just silence. It didn’t look like that would be the case though. These robbers were going to murder him in cold blood, and this wasn’t even the bank he was supposed to be in! They pulled him through the doorway with a gun to his head, dragging him blindly towards an unknown fate.

Jinwoo would try to negotiate, but he didn’t know what would work. He could tell them he was kinda sorta famous, but they’d probably torture and then murder him when they found out that he was talking about 2nd runner up on American idol famous. So, he passively followed.

Jinwoo was finally pulled into what felt like a car, and he heard a door shut. “Why is he in the car?” “You said to take him hostage!” “I said to take him hostage to ensure that we get to our car without getting shot if the cops arrive at this alternate exit early. That means leave him outside the car!” As the two men argued, Jinwoo noticed that the sirens were getting closer and closer. Clearly, the men saw something he didn’t because someone stepped on the gas, moving the vehicle quickly and almost flinging Jinwoo out of his seat. “Are you okay?” At this point, Jinwoo knew that they weren’t going to kill him, or at least they didn’t plan to do so, so he was less stiff from fear. He quickly nodded an affirmation. “You probably heard our earlier discussion. You don’t need to be afraid. We’re not going to hurt you. We’ll drop you off later. In return, you have to remain quiet when the police ask you for information about us.” Jinwoo nodded again, and a heavy silence reigned in the car for the next hour.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Wow. That sounds intense. And scary too. It’s really impressive that you managed to maintain your composure through that experience”  
Jinwoo crossed himself. A small smile ghosted over his face as he remembered the events that occurred after that. “Honestly, I was still in shock at that point. I wasn’t even thinking clearly, and every few seconds, despite their reassurances, I thought about death and how I was too unaccomplished as a musician to die that early. I was a mess. And to tell you the truth, I was even more of a mess when I eased out of the shock. You’ll see.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They had been driving for what felt like ages, and the robbers still hadn’t let Jinwoo out. At this point, he was convinced that they were taking him to some remote building to kill him. Jinwoo’s adrenaline had fully kicked in now, and he racked his brain to figure out a plan of escape. He had no idea where they were or what time it was. All he knew was that he was trapped in a moving vehicle with two heavily armed men, and he wanted out. His arms felt heavy and uncomfortable in the position he was in, but there was nothing he could do about it because the robbers had tied his hands together. Wait. Those idiots had tied his hands together in front of him. Since he was double-jointed, he could slip off his blindfold, find the door handle and roll out of the car. He would probably get injured, but that was still much better than death. Jinwoo quietly twisted and turned in his seat until he got his hands high enough to take off the black fabric. The harsh sunlight nearly blinded him- his eyes had become accustomed to the darkness. When he was able to fully use his eyes, Jinwoo didn’t bother to look out of the window. He would just psych himself out or risk getting caught by one of the rubbers. Instead, he reached for the door handle, pulled on it and threw himself out of the vehicle. He felt exhilarated and free, like he had gotten a new lease on life as he fell through the air, and then, nothing.

*

 

Jinwoo felt like an elephant was taking a nap on his chest. He couldn’t move, couldn’t open his eyes; He was essentially trapped in his own body.

Jinwoo struggled to move, but all that did was increase his internal panic. Jinwoo could hear some voices around him, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. He tried to calm himself down and focus on the words. “This looks really bad, Minho”

“I know. I told him we would let him out when we changed cars, I don’t know why he jumped”

“It looks like he landed on his head.”

“We can’t leave him here now. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and who knows when they would find him? He needs someone to watch him”

“We can’t take him with us, Minho. He’ll be able to tell the authorities what we look like when he recovers. That’s a risk we can’t take.”

“Remember Taehyun?”

Jinwoo had been growing increasingly groggy as he heard the conversation progress, and at that point, the voices faded out and he slipped back into oblivion.

*

 

The next time Jinwoo woke up, he was lying on what felt like a giant bean bag. The memories of his experience the last time he was conscious flooded his mind, and he tried to move his fingers and eyelids. Thankfully, they moved this time, but he was still tired. So, so tired. His memories slowly returned and he remembered competing in idol, losing, going on tour, Chicago, the bank robbery, jumping out of a moving car. Bloody Hell! Why had he thought that was a good idea? Jinwoo could hear footsteps approaching him, and he quickly closed his eyes and feigned unconsciousness.

Someone was sitting so close to Jinwoo that he could feel radiating from the other person’s warm skin. “Hey Mark. I know you can’t hear me, and I feel really stupid doing this, but it’s nice to be able to talk to someone that isn’t Seunghoon for a while. Actually, I’m just really enjoying being able to talk in public in my normal tone. The constant whispering got old after one month.”

Jinwoo wondered why the robber hadn’t been able to speak in the past. Not that he was in any way sympathetic to the man who was the reason why he was hurt and in the middle of nowhere, but an existence with constrained speech sounded really sad. It took Jinwoo a while to realize that the man had just called him Mark. Mark? Why did he call Jinwoo Mark? That was the name Jinwoo gave to clingy guys at social events. Did the robber take Jinwoo hostage as some sort of fucked revenge for Jinwoo scorning him at a club?

“I’m really sorry about all this. Our plan did not involve taking anyone hostage, but in some sick way, I’m glad it’s you. After we met on Drexel Avenue, I knew I wanted to talk to you again. I kinda accepted there was zero chance of that happening because of the whole escape to Canada thing. “

Great, Jinwoo had a crazed stalker. He’d always assumed his first stalker would be someone who saw him on tv and was captivated by his looks.

But, no. It had to be some rando that he’d met God knows where.

“I kept your sim card. We threw the phone out long ago. Can’t risk getting tracked through it. I also have your map. Not that it would be particularly helpful for you seeing as you had trouble finding the bank two blocks away on it.”

Wait. Bank two blocks away. It was that dumbass that directed him to the wrong bank, who robbed and took him hostage. He was clearly the singular cause of all Jinwoo’s troubles. Jinwoo quickly sat up, putting his fists out in order to hit the robber. Unfortunately, Jinwoo had momentarily forgotten about his injury. When he was about halfway up, a sharp pain shot through his head and his left arm, causing him to yelp in pain and fall back into bed.

‘You’re awake? Seunghoon! He’s awake. I’m so glad you woke up. When you remained unconscious for over 24 hours, I started to worry that something was seriously wrong with your head. You only have a small injury there, but maybe internal bleeding?”

Jinwoo ignored the man’s blathering in favor of gingerly feeling around his head for the injury. “Oh, and you have a ridiculous case of road rash on your left arm. Seunghoon said it would be okay, but it probably still hurts. I wouldn’t try to move it just yet”

He turned to get a proper look at his surroundings. Apart from whatever it was that he was lying on, the only piece of furniture that could be found in the room was a chair and table set in the corner. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. It looked like an abandoned farm house. He tried and failed to mask his reaction to the man seated beside him. This time, he was even closer than he had been before. Jinwoo could see every facial feature clearly. He was gorgeous. Jinwoo idly wondered how old he was. He looked like he was in his late-teens or early twenties- somewhere around Jinwoo’s age.

Just then, someone entered the room. Jinwoo assumed that he was the other robber. Bloody hell. Was he being punk’d? Jinwoo didn’t think he was famous enough for that yet, but it would certainly explain how ridiculously attractive the robbers holding him hostage were. Why did they need to rob a bank to afford to leave the country when they could probably make the same amount of money with 2-3 modelling gigs each? This one looked more stern than the first one, somehow more hardened. He was probably the main planner of this crime.

“Ah. You’re awake. Can you sit up?” Jinwoo motioned that he couldn’t, eliciting a nod from the tall man. “Alright. Listen up. I don’t know why you jumped out of the car, but we seem to be stuck with you now. We couldn’t leave you with a head injury on the roadside. This is rural Michigan. It’d be days before you were found. So, you’re going to stay with us until we get to Canada. You can get your head checked out there before you fly back home. Now that you know what our faces look like, you’d better keep that information to yourself or there will be consequences. We’re laying low for 5 days before driving to the border. That should give you enough time to recover. If you need something, ask Minho.”

With that, the man turned on his heels and walked out of the room. He hadn’t even bothered to ask if Jinwoo had any questions- although he definitely didn’t seem like the kind to entertain questions, Jinwoo thought as the ‘or there will be consequences’ replayed in his head.

“Don’t worry about him. His bark is worse than his bite. He’s actually a really nice guy”

Yeah, Jinwoo would find that easier to believe if he hadn’t watched the ‘really nice guy’ coldcock an innocent woman two days ago.

“This is really important to him. To both of us. He spent weeks planning this secretly- every little part of the robbery, risks, issues that could arise, all of that. You kind of messed all that up, so he’s probably torn between blaming himself and blaming you for the complications.”

All this time, Jinwoo had stayed silent- partly to avoid conflict and partly because he didn’t really have anything to say- but he wasn’t doing that anymore. “Yeah. I apologize for getting kidnapped and ruining your carefully planned robbery. I’ll do my best to avoid doing things like that in the future.”

Minho’s friendly expression slipped off his face, his eyes narrowed, and he leaned back in his position on the bean bag, maintaining eye contact with Jinwoo throughout. This made Jinwoo very uncomfortable. He probably shouldn’t have said that. He had momentarily forgotten that he was in a literal den of robbers, and no matter how nice they seemed, they still had giant guns that could end his promising life in a second. Jinwoo stifled the urge to apologize just as Minho spoke up. “You did jump out of a moving vehicle after we promised to let you go. Your being here right now is the main complication. I have to go take over from Seunghoon now. He’s leaving the house to do a quick check of the surrounding area and make sure the authorities haven’t discovered out hide out. Go back to sleep.”

Jinwoo had managed to lose the only ally he had in this place the minute he opened his mouth. Classic. He would try to fix it when he woke up. For now, the lure of sleep was too tempting. Jinwoo closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

*

 

“We have to get rid of him, Minho!” Jinwoo was startled out of an ordinary dream by sounds of yelling coming from the next room. It sounded like Seunghoon.

“I know we agreed to take him to Canada with us, but this information changes everything. He’s well known. The public is looking for him, and if anyone spots him with us, we’re screwed.”

“So what do you want to do then, leave him here with a head injury in the middle of nowhere?” “I know you’ve been taken in by his pretty face but this is a serious situation. They’re running ads and talking about him on the radio. Keeping a famous person hostage just gives the agency an excuse to kill us if they find us. And I guarantee they will if we don’t leave him behind. You’re not thinking this through!”

“Like you thought things through with Taehyun?”

A deadly silence fell over the building, followed by a loud crash. Jinwoo felt a sudden cold breeze, followed by a really hot one. Was that smoke coming out of the room? The sound of fighting and sudden temperature changes continued for at least five minutes, making Jinwoo wonder whether it was all in his head or he was coming down with a fever. This head injury might be more serious than Jinwoo had thought it was.

After some time, both boys emerged looking worse for wear. Minho had a giant bruise on his eye and another on his wrist, while Seunghoon had a Minhor burn on his neck. How did that even happen?

“Jinwoo. Kim Jinwoo”

“Guess your name isn’t Mark then?”

Seunghoon and Minho spoke at the same time.

Jinwoo sighed in defeat. They knew he was awake so feigning sleep would not get him out of this one. He managed to pull himself into a seated position.

“Yeah, my name is Jinwoo. You were being creepy when we met so I gave you a fake name. How did you find out?”

“I found a radio in one of the outhouses near this place. One of the stations had an ad looking for information on your whereabouts and the show hosts talked about you after that. You didn’t it was important enough to mention?” Seunghoon asked. His expression was still stormy, and it scared Jinwoo a little.

“I thought you were going to kill me. It just didn’t seem like the time to mention my d-list status.”

“We have to keep you with us until we enter Canada- both because of your head injury and because we don’t need anyone giving out personal information about out before we’re safely out of the country. I’ll put together a disguise for you to wear during the trip.”

With that, Seunghoon stomped out of the room, muttering angrily about television interviews and agencies, not sparing a glance for either of the two boys.

Jinwoo half expected Minho to berate him after Seunghoon’s departure, but the tall man stayed silent. He walked over to Jinwoo’s bean bag and sat down beside him.

“Why Mark though? It’s so… plain.”

That was unexpected. Still, if Minho was willing to overlook his quips from their last conversation and Jinwoo’s hidden identity situation, Jinwoo wasn’t planning to complain about it.

“I had a classmate in high school named Mark. He’s the biggest asshole I’ve ever met. It started out with me giving douchebags his number. Now, it’s the first name that comes to mind when I need a fake”

“I can’t imagine that Mark was very happy about the random guys that kept calling him. I’m not really mad about the fake name though. I might have done the same. Want to start over?”

“Sure. I’m Kim Jinwoo. 23 years old. Former struggling musician working on building that popstar career. You?”

“Song Minho. 21. I… I don’t really do anything. I mean, I haven’t done anything- bank robber, maybe?” Minho looked sad for a moment and an emptiness/haunted look appeared on his face. He remained quiet, as though he were reliving a bad memory.

Jinwoo felt bad for him. He didn’t know what was going on the younger man’s life, but he wanted to make him feel better. Minho had been nothing but nice to him, well if you didn’t count the whole accidentally taking him hostage thing, and Jinwoo had always been terrible at squashing his sympathy for others.

“Would you like to hear about how I went from crashing on my friend’s couch to competing on idol?”

When Minho nodded his assent, Jinwoo launched into a retelling of his experiences in the last year.

Minho was an amazing listener. He made Jinwoo feel like he was telling a story about the antics of Greek Gods and superheroes instead of a boring old rags-to-notquiteriches story about reality television. Minho hung unto his every word, absorbing his tale like a sponge with “really” “wow” “that’s amazing” inserted at the right points. Jinwoo had marveled at how his life had changed recently, but Minho made him feel like it was a miracle - a miracle that Jinwoo actually deserved. By the time he finished telling his story, he and Minho were lying side by side on the bean bag, skin pressed against skin.

Jinwoo could feel Minho’s warm breath on his skin while he spoke “Would you mind singing for me? You seem to love music, and I’d like to share some of that with you. It’d be a pretty cool memory. I’ll brag to everyone I meet about Jinwoo- THE Jinwoo- singing to me when you become rich and famous.”

Jinwoo felt his face redden. He wasn’t used to being praised so heavily and genuinely. “Sure”

Jinwoo chose a song popular enough for Minho to have heard in the past- Hello by Adele. He sang softly “Hello, it’s me…” By the time he ended with “It clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore”, Minho’s face was buried in the crook of his neck, the man’s strong fingers tapping out a familiar beat on Jinwoo’s chest. They lay together in silence until they both drifted off to sleep.

*

 

When Jinwoo woke up the next morning, he was burning up. His head felt like it was full of lead and rivulets of sweat ran down his face. He moaned in pain, as he rolled onto his side in an attempt to get comfortable. Minho was still lying beside him, and Jinwoo’s movements pulled him out of his slumber.

“Jinwoo! Are you okay?” Jinwoo let out another moan of discomfort. He was too hot, too uncomfortable to speak. “Fuck! Jinwoo. Wait. I’ll go get Seunghoon”. Minho stood up and ran towards the door. “Seunghoon! Seunghoon!” Jinwoo fell back into unconsciousness a few minutes later.

Someone was rubbing something cold against his face. That was the first sensation that Jinwoo felt when he came to. He felt too weak to open his eyes, so he kept them closed.

“Do you think I did this to him?”

“What are you talking about? He has a head injury because he thought it was a good idea to jump out of a moving car. That has nothing to do with you. Well, nothing to do with you directly.”

‘You know what I’m talking about, Seunghoon. He was fine yesterday. I haven’t been in such close proximity with someone, you know… normal since we were taken to boarding school. What if I did something in my sleep?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Your control is too good for that to happen. I think he might be fighting an infection or something. Just keep watching him, and keep him cool. He’ll be fine.”

Jinwoo was exhausted. It hurt to think. He’d worry about the conversation he had overheard later. Now, he could feel himself being pulled into dream world.

 

*

 

“Get down!” Jinwoo jumped into the bathtub when he heard Seunghoon scream a command at him. He could hear the sound of gunfire from outside the building. Wait. A bathtub? Where did that come from? He lay flat, staring at the white porcelain as he listened to the commotion outside. He was trembling in fear, but he still felt somehow disconnected from the situation. At least he did until something fell into the bathtub, landing squarely on top of his chest. It took him a while to realize that it was Seunghoon. He tried to push the other man off him, but his body wouldn’t move, couldn’t move. “Seunghoon! Seunghoon!” Jinwoo shook the man, trying to wake him up. He was starting to panic and he could feel his fingers trembling. Something wet landed on his chest. Jinwoo looked down and saw red. The blood- it was everywhere. It started to fill the bathtub; the levels rising until it covered Jinwoo’s body. He struggled to keep his face above it, but with Seunghoon’s weight on his shoulder, it was an impossible task. Jinwoo started screaming at the top of his lungs, raw screams that he had never heard himself release in the past. Just as the blood covered his nose, making it impossible for Jinwoo to breath, he jerked up, screaming. 

Jinwoo opened his eyes to see Seunghoon staring at him with what looked like a worried expression on his face. He had a wet napkin in his hand, but he barely noticed the water dripping from it. “Lean back. I don’t think you should be sitting up right now”.  
Jinwoo slowly lowered himself back into the bed. The adrenaline from his nightmare was fading, and he only now realized how badly his entire body hurt. Seunghoon leaned over to wipe his face with the towel, dragging it down to his chest. The towel was very cold, and even though Jinwoo was burning up, he shivered a little when it touched his skin.

“Minho is in the other room. He stayed up with you for the last 24 hours. I had to blackmail him into letting me take over so he could get some sleep.”

There was a long silence as Seunghoon kept trying to cool Jinwoo’s skin. Jinwoo let his eyes close again. He was too tired to keep them open.  
Seunghoon continued speaking. Jinwoo wasn’t sure if he thought Jinwoo was unconscious again or whether he knew that the older man was awake.

“I listened to your conversation with Minho two days ago, you know. I was seated near the entrance, and I could hear everything from there. It was nice to hear him being so casual and unburdened. I’ve known him for 8 years now, and he’s never like that. Well, he was once, but not since then. I like seeing him like that. I was really annoyed about having to keep you around, but anyone who makes Minho look like that is alright, I guess. So, you have to get better. We’ll have to part ways in Canada, but I want him to have fun and socialize while he can. Get better, okay?”

Jinwoo drifted off again.

The next time Jinwoo woke up, it was because he was being shaken by someone. As his brain got less fuzzy from sleep, he realized that he was feeling much better than he had felt in the last few days. The difference that had occurred since he was last conscious was astounding. Seunghoon was standing above him and staring down at him while Minho sat on the bean bag beside him. One look at the concerned and drained expression on Minho’s face made Jinwoo want to reassure him. However, before he could do that, Seunghoon interrupted him. 

“We called an ambulance, and I let them know who you are. They’ll be here in a few minutes to pick you up. They’ll probably inform the police, so we’re going to get going before they get here. Minho insisted on watching you until they get here, so we’ll be in a truck in the bushes behind the second outhouse. Immediately you enter the ambulance, we’ll leave. We were nice enough to call you an ambulance, so I am trusting you to not provide any identifying information to the police or anyone else who asks about us.”

Although Jinwoo liked Minho and wanted to reassure the younger boy, he also really wanted to get back to his regular life as soon as he could. He nodded weakly in response to Seunghoon’s speech. Seunghoon gave him a sharp nod and left the room, leaving Jinwoo and Minho together.

“I guess I’ll see you around. I’ll be on the lookout for news about your recovery.” Minho gently ruffled Jinwoo’s hair, letting his hand linger on the older man’s cheek for a few seconds, then quickly left the room to join Seunghoon.

Jinwoo watched him walk away. He could still feel the warm heat of Minho’s hand on his skin. Maybe if they had met under different circumstances… Well, he would never know now.

He could hear the sirens of the ambulance and police vehicles grow louder as they approached, and he steeled himself for the throngs of people that would flood the small room in a few minutes.

The vehicles stopped outside the window, and Jinwoo listened carefully. Someone seemed to be delivering instructions to the group.

“Apprehend 115 and 190 first. The hostage is dispensable. We’re going to get rid of him anyway. Can’t have him telling any stories about this when he recovers.”

Jinwoo’s eyes widened in panic. They could only be referring to him when they mentioned the hostage. Why were the police planning to kill him?

His muscles were still weak, but Jinwoo managed to crawl off the bean bag onto the floor. He needed to get out of here before they found him. He could hear footsteps stomping into the building as he frantically searched for a hiding spot. The room was so bare; it was impossible to hide.

Someone entered the room Jinwoo was in, and he quickly lay flat on the floor and feigned unconsciousness.

“The hostage is in here. He seems to be unconscious.”

“Leave the hostage alone. We’ll deal with him later. Find those two!”

The man walked around the room for a few minutes before he left the building to join the other agents searching the surrounding area.

Jinwoo had resigned himself to death. There was no way he could escape multiple armed men in his condition. Not that he would be able to do that in any other condition.

Another person entered the room. This time, the stranger headed towards Jinwoo and stopped right beside him.

“Jinwoo. Jinwoo. Wake up.” He whispered urgently.

It was Minho. Jinwoo opened his eyes. “Seunghoon and I noticed that they didn’t bring an ambulance with them. I don’t think they want to help you, Jinwoo. Do you want to leave with us?”

Just as Jinwoo nodded his answer, several armed men entered the room. They were screwed. So screwed, Jinwoo thought as he stared at the men who had now formed a semicircle around them pointing all sorts of weapons at the two men.

A heavy silence enveloped the room. Everyone was on the edge as they waited for the other side to act. Suddenly, one of the armed men dropped to the floor. There was something sticking out of his back. Jinwoo rubbed at his eyes to make sure he was seeing things clearly. Was that an icicle? In the middle of summer?

By this time, the armed men had overcome their shock. They turned and started shooting in the direction where the icicle had come from. Minho pulled Jinwoo up and started dragging him towards the exit. More of the armed men had been felled by icicles, and Jinwoo had to jump over their bodies.

Two men blocked the doorway, and they turned their weapons on Minho and Jinwoo. They were surely done for this time, Jinwoo thought. He started reflecting on his life, regretting all the time he had wasted on the couch aimlessly surfing the internet. Jinwoo was so out of it that he almost missed Minho shooting fireballs at the armed men. Fireballs were appearing in Minho’s hands and flying towards the men. Fireballs. What the actual fuck?

Minho continued pulling Jinwoo with him as he ran outside the building, and Jinwoo didn’t even fight him because he was still in shock.

Seunghoon was standing beside the truck waiting for the other two to join him. He was covered in what looked like ice and icicles were shooting out of his hands. Jinwoo couldn’t believe his eyes. Maybe he was dreaming again? Jinwoo pinched himself hard just as Minho pushed him into the passenger seat of the track. He winced when he felt the pain. Nope. He was definitely awake. This was happening.

Seunghoon also hopped into the driver’s seat and immediately stepped on the gas. Jinwoo could feel himself lurch forward, and he prepared for impact with the dashboard. Minho wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer into his warm torso and stopping him from colliding with the dashboard.

“Are you okay?”

“Hold tight!”

Seunghoon wove through the freeway, driving a lot faster than the speed limit as he tried to lose the police. Were they even the police?

“So, can I ask what happened back there? With the icicles and fireballs and stuff.”

“We’ll explain later. Just sit still and try not to jump out of this truck this time. You might not survive this fall.”

Jinwoo sat silently as they drove further. He had no idea where they were, but he assumed they were headed toward Canada. Strangely enough, even with the unexplainable events of the last hour, Jinwoo found himself feeling very comfortable around the two men. He let himself sink into Minho and drifted off to sleep.

*

 

Jinwoo groggily shook himself awake. His back was starting to hurt. He noticed that he wasn’t on the familiar beanbag. It took Jinwoo a while to remember the vents of the last day- the police trying to kill him, fireballs, icicles… What the hell?

The vehicle was not moving, so they must have arrived at their destination, which was apparently the middle of nowhere. Jinwoo turned to look at the other men. They were reclining casually in their seats. It was as good a time to ask them as any. Although Jinwoo did wonder whether he should ask to have this conversation outside the truck so it would be more difficult for them to roast him or turn him into an icicle.

“Um. So, are you guys ready to talk? About the… um.. icicles and stuff?” Jinwoo asked shakily.

Seunghoon fixed his intense gaze on Jinwoo, making him adjust his position nervously. “Minho. Are you going to do the honors or should I?”

Minho cleared his throat loudly before he started speaking.

“Do you remember the stories about the powered rebellion?”

“Yeah. The story is that 100 years ago, people with abnormal powers existed, and they were in conflict with the regular humans”

Minho’s visible wince when he said the word ‘abnormal’ made Jinwoo pause for a minute. He hadn’t meant to imply that Minho was abnormal, but he didn’t know whether he should continue speaking.

“There was a big battle, most of them were killed off. The rest kind of died off as the years went by, so they’re extinct in the United States now.”

Jinwoo was now the subject of not one but two very intense gazes. He could almost feel their eyes boring into his brain. “I mean, clearly, that’s not true. You guys have powers, right? That’s what this is about?” Jinwoo continued rambling as he waited for someone to interrupt him.

“Yes. Minho can control fire, and I do the same with ice. Aren’t you going to ask me how we exist when the supernatural line supposedly died years ago?”

Jinwoo shot him an exasperated look. How was he supposed to navigate a conversation this sensitive without having any real background knowledge about the subject? Minho apparently noticed his discomfort and swooped in to rescue him.

“Well. Contrary to the information in your history books, superpowers are not hereditary. We both have normal parents, as do most of the others we’ve met. The government thinks people would be freaked out if they knew about the existence of the powered people, so they round us up pretty early. Everyone first exhibits on their 13th birthday. When the government finds out, they send agents to your house to convince your parents to give you up and take you to a boarding school” Minho said with finger quotes when he mentioned the boarding school.

“And sometimes they don’t even have to find you because your parents try to murder you for being different, and it’s as easy as picking you up from the hospital” Seunghoon interjected.

Minho reached behind Jinwoo to pat Seunghoon’s back. “Seunghoon had a bad experience with his family when he exhibited.”

“That’s an understatement. Anyway, all powered people get taken to an institution. We’re locked up, and they don’t let us interact with each other outside of mealtimes and classes to stop mutinies. We get an education, but most of it is an attempt to brainwash us into becoming their servants. When we turn 22, the ones that they deem brainwashed enough are incorporated into the workforce while the others are killed. They tell us that the older boys get deported, but we know they’re getting murdered. “

Jinwoo turned to get a proper look at Seunghoon. The boy was providing this narrative with an expressionless gaze. It was a little worrying how unaffected he was by the terrible tale he was relaying.

“Aren’t you 22?”

“His birthday is in two days. I managed to convince him to try to escape again before the birthday. He’s definitely on the kill list”

“Again?”

This time, Seunghoon couldn’t mask the motion on his face. “I don’t want to talk about this. I’m going to scout the area.”

Seunghoon exited the truck and slammed the door shut, leaving Minho and Jinwoo to stew in an awkward silence.

“So, are you going to tell me? Does this have anything with that Taehyun person that you two keep mentioning?”

Jinwoo watched the shocked expression glance across Minho’s face. He had forgotten that he was supposed to be unconscious when those conversations happened.

“Yeah. It does. It really hits a nerve with Seunghoon. Taehyun and I arrived at the facility in the same year. We got really close, but he wanted something better. A more human existence. So did Seunghoon. They started planning to escape, but I was too much of a scaredy cat to join in. Their plan was solid. It should have worked. I don’t even know what happened, but the guards found out about it and captured them right outside the building. They tried to force them to go back to the facility, but Seunghoon resisted. The guards got angry and slit Taehyun’s throat to teach him a lesson. That was about 3 years ago. Taehyun was just 16. I think they might have been more than just friends too. Seunghoon never really told me.”

Minho had not even noticed the tears that had escaped his eyes as he told Jinwoo the story.

“He kind of gave up after that. He’d do everything they told him, but the guards still hated him. I knew they would kill him immediately he turned 21, so I kept begging him to try again. I only managed to blackmail him into doing it by making him feel guilty about Taehyun’s death. I feel so guilty about it, but I couldn’t just let him die there. He’s all I have left. My parents don’t want me. Taehyun is gone. I couldn’t watch him die too. I just couldn’t.”

Jinwoo had never had anyone be so vulnerable in his presence. He didn’t know what to do. They didn’t know each other that well, but he felt connected to him somehow. Jinwoo resigned to pulling Minho closer and staying still with his arms around him. Minho laid his head on Jinwoo’s shoulder and continued speaking.

“There’s someone waiting for us by the border. With this money, we can start over, try to live a normal life. I didn’t expect the agency to know who we were. We planned for everything. They were not supposed to figure out our identities until we were safely in Canada. So many things have gone wrong in the last few days. What if…”

Minho choked up, causing Jinwoo to start rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. “It’ll be fine. I promise.” They remained in that position, luxuriating in each other’s company while trying to forget that they would soon be separated forever.

Time passed quickly as they sat quietly together; the bright sunlight soon disappeared, leaving darkness in its wake. Seunghoon had wandered back to the truck around sunset, plopping back into his seat with no words for the other boys. Jinwoo still felt a little awkward around him, maybe even more so than usual because of the personal information he had learned in the last couple of hours, so he remained silent. The silence in the truck was almost suffocating at this point, so Jinwoo awkwardly tried to start a conversation.

“So, do you guys know any tricks?”

Jinwoo quickly became the recipient of two startled and slightly mocking gazes.

“What? It’s weird sitting here in the dark all quiet and stuff. I’m trying to entertain myself.”

Seunghoon smirked. “I haven’t done this in years, but if I focus, I can make little ice angels.” He opened his hands and an ice sculpture slowly appeared. It was an angel with wings, but it also had demon horns.

“I didn’t mean to add those. I always added them when I made them in the past. It amused someone” Seunghoon’s smile had started to fade, and an emptiness replaced the mischievous glint in his eyes.

Jinwoo exchanged a meaningful glance with Minho. He knew that Seunghoon was talking about Taehyun. “I don’t have any tricks, but I can do this” Minho quipped, shooting a fireball at Seunghoon’s sculpture. A stream of water rolled down Seunghoon’s hand, dripping all over his pants.

“Oh, I’m gonna get you for that one!”

What followed was the strangest play fight Jinwoo had ever experienced as ice and fire clashed all over the van, completely soaking Jinwoo. He watched them shoot their fireballs and icicles with gleeful, childlike, carefree looks on their faces, letting his expression go soft with fondness.

After their terrible experiences at the boarding school, they deserved to be this happy all the time.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“That sounds delightful. You guys really bonded during that short period of time” The interviewer interrupted Jinwoo’s story. He had been talking for so long that she probably felt the need to get a word or two in. It was her show after all.

“Yeah. When I think about it now, I’m honestly a little surprised by how quickly I connected to them. I guess it was a combination of circumstances and youthful naiveté.”

“Right. Right. Please continue.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It was their last day together, and they were getting ready to make their final journey to the border later that night. The three men spent the morning sharing funny stories about their past experiences and eating food from cans. Seunghoon seemed to have warmed up to Jinwoo, and he smiled and talked enthusiastically too. Jinwoo learned a lot about their pasts and the workings of the boarding school- if he could even call it that.

That place was despicable, and he couldn’t believe that the government was aware of its existence, talk less of funding it.

Seunghoon left them in the truck again. He said he was going to do some recon, but Jinwoo had no idea what that even meant. Minho obviously did because he nodded his understanding to the older man.

“Want some more food?”

“Nah. I’m good.”

Jinwoo watched Minho dispose of the cans- if putting them in a garbage bag and throwing the bag into the back of the truck could be considered disposal. When he went back into a seated position in the passenger seat, they were practically facing each other. Jinwoo took in Minho’s appearance. Neither of them had showered in almost a week, but Minho still looked amazing.

Jinwoo’s eyes traced Minho’s thick eyebrows, perfectly sculpted cheekbones, his prominent nose, his lips, committing them to memory. At that moment, Jinwoo realized that he would miss the other man so very much. It was unexplainable how fond he was of Minho; he certainly wasn’t the type to get close to strangers so quickly. Maybe his head injury played a role in this? The head injury was definitely the only real explanation for what Jinwoo did next. He leaned forward and caught Minho’s lips with his, softly kissing him.

Minho initially pulled away, his surprise evident on his face, before he surged back in, sucking gently on Jinwoo’s lower lip before licking into his mouth. Minho’s tongue ravaged Jinwoo’s mouth, exploring the ins and outs of the warm, wet cavity. Jinwoo could feel the blood rushing into his groin. He was leaning into Minho now and he used that opportunity to slide his hands under Minho’s shirt. His skin was soft and warm, so warm, Jinwoo thought as Minho moaned into his mouth. He moved them upwards, stroking the skin as he went along, until he got to the Minho’s nipples. When he gently stroked them with his thumbs, Minho groaned, arching his hips so far upwards that he almost toppled out of his seat. Now that Jinwoo knew that Minho’s nipples were very sensitive, he began a focused assault on them- alternating between stroking them and pulling them hard- as Minho writhed against him.

Jinwoo moved to straddle Minho. He could feel the other man’s hardness pressing against his butt and he wiggled against it to tease him even more. This time, Minho grabbed his hips to make him stop, then started slowly grinding his clothed erection against Jinwoo in time to the thrusts of his tongue in Jinwoo’s mouth. Jinwoo was achingly hard at this point, and he barely managed to suppress his groan of pleasure when Minho unzipped his pants and started slowly stroking him through his underwear. The groan slipped out when Minho pulled out his cock, and Jinwoo could feel the warm callused hand on his phallus. He was putting a little too much pressure on Jinwoo’s leaking cock, and Jinwoo could tell that he was inexperienced, but it felt so good that he started thrusting up into Minho’s fist and then down against his erection without voicing any complaints.

Jinwoo pulled away from the kiss and shifted backwards. The seat was cramped and Jinwoo’s back was almost pressed against the dashboard. He quickly undid Minho’s pants and pulled his cock out. It was long, thick and leaking with precum. Jinwoo rubbed the tip with his thumb, spreading the drop of precum and drawing curses out of Minho. Minho copied the motion, and Jinwoo’s erection responded with small jerks in Minho’s direction. He had to pause his own ministrations for a few seconds because his vision had become fuzzy with pleasure.  
Minho and Jinwoo continued stroking in each other, matching each other’s movements. Their foreheads were pressed together and they exchanged intimate stares and kisses in their pursuit of pleasure. Minho’s strokes sped up and Jinwoo could feel himself thrusting faster into Minho’s fist as the pleasure built. Jinwoo laid his head on Minho’s shoulder, nipping and licking at the skin as he sped up the motions of his hands.

“I’m coming!” Minho grind out, just as Jinwoo felt warm fluid on his hand. Minho continued stroking Jinwoo, using his other hand to play with his balls. He was teetering on the edge and all it took was Minho’s finger circling his puckered hole for him to come- jerking erratically into Minho’s fist.

It took a while for both of them to catch their breath, but even after that, they remained silent because both of them didn’t really know what to say.

Just then, Seunghoon opened the door, causing Jinwoo to scramble off Minho’s lap and into his seat while trying to tuck his penis back into his pants. A quick glance to his right showed that Minho was doing the same thing.

“What the actual fuck, you two! I know you have the hots for each other, but you couldn’t have warned me that you were going to get it on in the truck- the truck we all have to sit in for the next 8 hours- beforehand? Better yet, you couldn’t have waited until we got to Canada and you had an actual bed? I’m heading back out. Clean up before I get back. If I end up sitting in a puddle of cum when I get back, I swear to god…”

With a stormy expression on his face, Seunghoon slammed the door shut and walked off.

Minho and Jinwoo stared awkwardly at each other for a few seconds before they simultaneously burst into giggles.

“His. Face. Did. you. see. that? He. Looked. So . Mad. ”

“Puddle of cum!”

When Jinwoo finally managed to get his hysterical laughter under control, he turned to Minho and asked “So, are there any napkins in the car?

We do need to clean up.”

“I think we have something under the driver’s seat. Just pat under the seat and see if you can find a package of napkins.”

Jinwoo leaned over and felt around until he found the napkins. He and Minho proceeded to clean themselves up properly before Seunghoon returned.

*

 

Seunghoon gave them both the silent treatment when he returned about an hour later. This time, Jinwoo didn’t try to lighten the mood because it was understandable. He had ignored Seungyoon for a week when he arrived home early one afternoon and found him hooking up with his girlfriend on the couch Jinwoo usually slept on, and Seungyoon was the person who owned the couch. Quiet reigned, and Jinwoo fell asleep.  
When Jinwoo woke up, the truck was already moving. He had no idea how long they had been on the road or how far from the border they were, and he wasn’t sure he should ask. Seunghoon was driving, his intense gaze fixed on the road, while Minho was fast asleep. His head was resting on Jinwoo’s shoulder and he bobbed with the truck every time it hit a bump. Was that drool streaming out of his open mouth? Jinwoo would normally think it was disgusting, but Minho looked kind of cute when he drooled. God, he was whipped. How was he going to handle their parting later today?

“We’re almost at the border. Maybe 10 minutes away. You slept for a very long time. I think your head injury is catching up with you.” Seunghoon said.

“Minho probably told you already, but there’s someone waiting for us at the border. Canada has different laws regarding powered peoples. The population there is much lower than it is in the states, but we’re protected. Criminal charges against powered people are handled by an international court, and since the U.S claims that we’re extinct, they’ll have trouble bringing charges against us. Once we cross the border, we can start new lives with the money we got from the bank. Minho will go to an art college to get his degree in graphic design, and I’ll get a job. He can forget the bad things and just live normally, like he always dreamed.”

Jinwoo wasn’t sure why Seunghoon was telling him this, but it felt nice to be trusted. It felt even better to know that the two men had a bright future ahead of them. Maybe he should ask for a phone number that he could contact them on when he went back to his normal life. Before

Jinwoo could bring himself to ask, another vehicle collided with the truck, knocking them off the highway.

“Fuck! Minho, wake up! The agency is here. We need to make a run for the border.”

Minho shook himself awake. Jinwoo could tell that he was still groggy with sleep, and he had no idea what was going on. Jinwoo wasn’t entirely sure that he understood it either.

“The agency is here, Minho. Get your ass up! I’m going to make an ice box and we can run for it, you need to run defense while I do that”

A guarded expression had spread over Minho’s face. He looked worried and alert as he nodded his agreement.

Seunghoon climbed over Jinwoo and Minho and opened the door, slowly making his way out of the car. He immediately started making a giant wall of ice while Minho joined him.

“Stay where you are, Jinwoo. Grab the bags of money.”

The FBI agents were heading toward their truck, and Minho produced a wall of fire separating them from the three men.

“Jinwoo, get out of the truck. Both of you get down” Seunghoon yelled as he squatted down behind the truck. Jinwoo and Minho immediately obeyed without questioning him. Good thing they did, because a barrage of bullets soon penetrated the firewall, hitting the truck and the trees around them.

“Hurry up, Seunghoon”

“Trying my best here. Just keep them away.” Seunghoon had constructed the remaining three walls while Jinwoo wasn’t looking. He was working on the roof that would prevent attacks from above.

“Jinwoo, are you good to run?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Alright guys. We’re only a few feet away from the border. I think I can hold this barrier up until then. We need to run really fast”

Minho had already taken the firewall down, and they ran for the border, contained inside the icebox. Jinwoo could hear bullets raining down on the walls of the box as he ran for his life. By the time they were almost halfway there, Jinwoo could tell that Seunghoon was having trouble maintaining the walls. It had to be really heavy. They had already lost the roof and it looked like one of the walls would collapse in a few minutes.

Jinwoo silently muttered a prayer to any and every deity that it would hold up until they made it to their target location.

Unfortunately, the deities were not feeling very beneficent towards Jinwoo at the time- it probably had something to do with his ignoring them for years. Two walls collapsed when they were 10 feet away from the border. Jinwoo froze in place as bullets rained down around him.

“Keep running. I’ll distract them” Seunghoon yelled at them.

Jinwoo could see that Minho was ready to protest and try to fight alongside Seunghoon, so he grabbed his hand and pulled him along. He could see someone who looked like the representative of the powered people taking cover in a building beside the border. At least they had witnesses now. The FBI would think twice about gunning them down after they crossed the border.

Jinwoo blanked out for a few seconds; he barely remembered getting to the border, but he heaved a huge sigh of relief when he noticed that he and Minho were safely in Canada. They quickly joined the powered people’s representative on the balcony as they waited for Seunghoon to join them. Seunghoon had created a bodysuit made of ice and he was running backwards as he shot icicles at the special forces. He was almost at the border, and Jinwoo was starting to breathe easy when the ice suddenly fell, giving the bullets free access to Seunghoon’s body. In less than one second, Seunghoon was down.

“No! Seunghoon!” Minho yelled. He started to run back towards the border, but Jinwoo and the PP rep caught him in time, holding him in place while he struggled to escape.

Seunghoon was lying about one foot from the border line. He was still- deathly still- as the blood flowed from his body and stained the tarmac. If Jinwoo had any doubts about his death, it was cleared when a man in a suit stepped forward to examine his body and nodded to his companions.

Someone soon arrived with a body bag to take him away.

At that moment, Jinwoo let himself cry. He wept for the complex man he had gotten attached to despite his old reservations, the man intensely focused on his quest for freedom, the boy who had been betrayed by his parents and the only person in the world willing to stick by Minho. He clung to Minho as they grieved together unashamedly.

“I’m so sorry, Minho. I’m so sorry.” Jinwoo didn’t even know what he was apologizing for as he tried to comfort the broken man.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Jinwoo stopped telling the story when his voice cracked. There was a ball in his throat, and he could feel himself tearing up. Thirty years, and he still got so emotional when he so much as thought about Seunghoon. Their week together hadn’t really nailed in how important Seunghoon had been in Minho’s life. It was the months that followed that did it.

“Um... I…”

Jinwoo couldn’t speak, and he cursed himself internally. At that moment, he spotted a distinguished figure approaching the stage. His salt and pepper hair and glasses made him look older than he was, but as the leader of one of the most significant civil rights movements of the last 50 years, the air of maturity was definitely a plus.

The interviewer looked confused at first, but she quickly adapted to the changes in the situation.

“And here we have Mr. Song Minho, leader of the powered movement and husband to our special guest - Mr. Kim Jinwoo.”

Minho nodded his greetings and took a seat beside Jinwoo, reaching down to encouragingly clasp Jinwoo’s hand in his. Now that he was close,

Jinwoo could see that Minho’s eyes were slightly reddened and his hands were shaking a little.

“If you and the viewers don’t mind, I’d like to continue telling the story”

“That’s perfectly fine, Mr. Song. It would be very interesting to get a different perspective.” The interviewer smiled so widely, she looked like the cat that got the cream. It was understandable. She had managed to score personal interviews with both Kim Jinwoo and Song Minho. The press coverage she would get from this would be off the charts.

“So, the Canadian Powered People’s representative managed to get us home in one piece…”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Minho was seated on the bed. He curled into himself, his head resting passively on his knees as he stared blankly at the wall. Seunghoon was gone. He would never see him again or hear that voice nagging at him. No more shared breakfasts. No play fights. Seunghoon would never get to watch Minho achieve his dreams, would never get to achieve his own dreams. It was all gone. Minho slowly rocked himself back and forth.  
Jinwoo had finally stopped tearing up, and now, he was just watching Minho gingerly from the other corner of the room. Minho couldn’t even look at him. Eventually, he left the room, leaving Minho to deal with his emotions. It was probably for the best; Jinwoo would leave him in a few hours and he had to learn to deal with his problems alone.

Minho stayed in bed for hours, alternating between drowning in his emotions and trying to shut them down so he could think. His grief and sadness over Seunghoon’s death had slowly transitioned into anger- at the system, at his parents, at the guards who had mistreated him, at the school, at the agency, at Seunghoon’s murderers, at Seunghoon and above all at himself. He should have stayed behind and fought at his side.

Fuck, he should have just left it alone when Seunghoon said he wasn’t interested in escaping. This was his fault, and he would never forgive himself for it. Minho swore to himself that he would spend every minute of the time he had left making up for his mistakes. He would spend every moment working to make Seunghoon proud, to make sure no one else would have to live like they had.

Slowly uncurling from his position on the bed, Minho stood up and walked into the living room. To his surprise, Jinwoo had stuck around. He was sitting on the sofa, clutching a figurine as he stared into space. The Canada PP rep was close by, looking impatiently at his watch.

“I want to go to the press.”

Both men looked up in surprise. The PP rep responded in a cynical tone “And what will you tell them?”

“I’ll talk about the existence of powered people. And the facility! They’ll be interested in that”

“And what makes you think they’d listen to a random nobody who could be having a psychotic breakdown for all they know. It’ll be you versus the United States government.”

Minho’s face fell. The man had brought up some good points, but he couldn’t give up now. He had to do something. The people who had dealt him such injustices couldn’t be allowed to go scot-free. Minho started to sink into the quicksand of despair.

“What if I did it?” A small voice piped up from the corner.

Minho turned to look at Jinwoo, who stared back with a determined look on his face.

“I’m not really famous, but a decent percentage of the population knows me. And I think I got more publicity recently for the hostage situation. If I organized a press conference to talk about my experiences and the way the agency mistreats powered people, they might listen.”  
The representative was smiling now. “If you’re willing to do that, that could be a significant way to draw the public’s attention to the plight of the powered people.”

Minho moved to sit next to Jinwoo, taking his hand in his. “Are you sure you want to do this? I know you’re eager to move on with your life and pursue your dreams. I don’t want to get in the way of that, Jinwoo.”

“I’m not leaving you after all of this, Minho” Jinwoo squeezed Minho’s hand and they looked at each other, each safe in the assurance that he had someone who would stick by him through thick and thin.

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“And that’s it. We held the first press conference. It stirred the interest of the media and the general public, and they quickly uncovered the boarding school. Several exposés later, it was shut down and the United States government was forced to apologize and make restitutions to everyone affected. In the two years I spent in jail after pleading guilty to robbery charges at the international court, Jinwoo released two double platinum albums and lived the popstar lifestyle.”

Jinwoo nudged him jokingly. “Shut up. I visited you every two weeks while you were there. We fell further in love, and got married. Sadly, the fight for civil rights for powered people is still not over. We’ll keep working on it until we’re six feet under.”

The interviewer smiled warmly at them, a glimmer of admiration in her eyes. “I’m afraid we don’t have any more time. It was really amazing to speak to you two. You’re examples of the kind of people we should all hope to be. Kim Jinwoo and Song Minho, everybody! We’ll see you tomorrow with a new episode of the Rachel Dahlia show. Good Night!”

Minho and Jinwoo stood up, hands linked with intertwined fingers, as they waved goodnight to America.

 

The End.  
(There will be a TaeHoon prequel to this story)


End file.
